Fascinating Nouns Ep. 230: Jack Chick

If you live in a big city, you may have come across a mysterious comic booklet, one that may have appeared to spring up out of nowhere. Maybe you found it in an old phone booth, or possibly at the grocery store. You may have even found one sitting on top of your favorite gas pump. That’s how I found mine. They are usually in all black and white, and they tell the story of some lost soul who can’t stop sinning, but these books, through the power of comics, tell the reader how to find Jesus and save themselves from eternal damnation. I know this sounds very specific, but it is true: There is an invisible infrastructure of people who buy these little booklets and leave them all around the city for people to find. They all started with a guy named Jack Chick who made it his mission to save humanity from itself. While this is a noble cause, not everyone sees it that way. This week I talk to Kurt Kuersteiner, about the origin of Chick Tracts, how they became so involved with conspiracies, and why it seems like there just might be a higher power tipping the scales in Jack’s favor.